Chapter 51

I used the venerable elven sword of ancient origin as a walking stick as I made my way to the city of Spiris. The sun had completely fallen now and I couldn’t help but sigh when I saw the stars hanging in the sky. I hadn’t even been walking very long either. The plains out here were dangerous at night. I couldn’t stop. I didn’t know how long this scab of ice would last. I was maintaining it with small amounts of magic, but it still had its limits. I had used too much magic already.

I continued to use Presence Detection and cautiously moved on. The night wind flowed through the grass like ocean waves. It was beautiful, but I don’t stop. Though, there were no grass wolves here. The scene was peace itself. But such moments had a way of turning into something very unfortunate, or so had been the trend for me recently. It’s almost like I was the protagonist of a story; but I wasn’t. There was no point in thinking about that.

I had been stabbed by a robber, awoken in another world, ended up traveling with an elf partner, and just happened to have killed a wyvern by myself. A normal adventurer. Huh…saying it like that does make it sound a bit like a protagonist…?

I was thinking such nonsensical thoughts when Presence Detection caught something approaching me. There were several of them coming toward me from a 5 o’clock position. Well, it was probably monsters.

I stop and unsheath my sword before turning around. Some bushes shook ahead of me, and in the next instant, a goblin jumped out. It wielded a rusted weapon that could hardly be called a sword. In any case, a goblin couldn’t kill me. All I did was swing my sword down diagonally at the approaching goblin, and its upper half slid cleanly off its lower half. Now, I swing vertically, the next one splits into left and right pieces, and then it is finished. This was the power of the ancient elven sword. A real cheat weapon.

But I had decided to use this sword only after I had mastered swordsmanship. Even if my life had been hanging on the line, I didn’t like the idea of using it when I was still a novice.

“You have to make sacrifices to get out of desperate situations, but this sucks…”

I say as I look at the blade with its jade glow. Oh, this was quite pathetic. I was filled with regret and disgust as I stored the goblin weapons in the hollow bag and began to walk again. I would buy a new sword once I reached the city. A sword that was just as good as the one Chief made me. I promised to myself as looked at the broken sword that hung on my belt.

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An hour passed since I had first started walking. It looked so bright in the night’s darkness. Spiris. I was now close enough that the city was clearly visible. There were several more goblin attacks on the way here, but with a quick Negative Slash, they were split open. My mood darkened with every goblin sword I had to add to the hollow bag.

I could see a guard with a torch patrolling the outer walls. I couldn’t make out his face, but just seeing another person was enough to make my feet feel lighter. I was almost running as I neared the gate.

And then, at last, finally, from so far away, the long-awaited western gate of Spiris was before me. The gatekeeper sees me. Just as I am about to greet him…

“Ahh!”

He recoils. Was there a monster behind me!? I look, but there is nothing there. Woah, freaky.

“Ahh, I am looking at you!!”

“Eh?”

Now, this was just weird. What was so scary about me?

“Yo-you’re covered in blood…!”

“Oh.”

Right. I was covered head to toe after slashing the wyvern’s stomach open. Ahh, I see. That’s why so many goblins were attacking me! Those guys were really sensitive to the smell of blood…

“It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

“No-no-no-no-no-no! Stay away, you ghastly fiend!”

He thrust his spear towards me. This bastard… If he had any idea what I’ve been through…

“Let me in the city…I’m injured. This blood isn’t mine.”

“Not yours!? Did you, murder someone…!?”

The guard interrogates me with the spear still fixed in my direction.

“No, it’s from a wyvern. It’s dead in the forest over there.”

“What…? A wyvern…?”

The guard was scared at first, but now he was stunned. This was becoming unbearable. I didn’t have time for this.

“Just call Harold. He will come if you tell him that Asagi is calling.”

“Uh, ah…f-fine. However, you will wait here!”

He returned to himself with a jolt before opening a small window to the side of the gate and relaying what I had just said. It only took several minutes for the gate to open and for Harold, the captain of the western district guard, to come out.

“Asagi!! What happened!?”

“Ahh, Harold. Thank god. There was a wyvern in the forest…”

“I heard the story. I was just preparing our men to leave. But come inside now, then we can talk…”

So Harold said, as he lent me his shoulder. And just like that, I was taken through the gate. We went into the guardhouse and I was shown to a small sleeping room. I was allowed to lie on one of the beds, however, I was very confident that I would fall asleep the moment I did that, so I rejected Harold’s offer and sat up.

“There was a report about the other wyvern being sighted. And so some adventurers set out to challenge it…”

“Yes. I went in just as their shield-bearer had been dealt a heavy wound. And once the adventurers fled, I fought it alone.”

“And what happened to the wyvern…?”

Harold looked at me intently.

“I just killed it.”

I made a forced triumphant smile, even though I probably just looked tired.

“…! So you…! Really…!”

He was practically shaking with uncontainable excitement as he looked at me. Seeing him, I couldn’t help but laugh. He immediately followed, and our boisterous laughter echoed in what should have been a quiet sleeping room.

“Ahhh… My stomach hurts for more than one reason…!”

“Damn it, you really do push yourself too hard!”

“But, it’s not like I had a choice. It wouldn’t let me go. It had a look that said ‘I will kill you at any cost.’”

“But even so, it is hardly normal to go and kill it! However, I do like that about you.”

“Hehe… Thank you very much. By the way, what happened to the adventurers?”

I had forgotten to ask about them. I hoped that Rex and Danny were okay.

“Yes, they are being treated at the infirmary in the central guardhouse. The wounds on the shield-bearer were especially deep. But Spiris has very gifted medical magicians. He will not die.”

“That’s a relief. Really…”

It made me feel better about risking my neck to help them. Standing my ground there had given them enough time to escape. I was glad.

“Well then, I will retrieve this wyvern with the men I have gathered. It would be a waste for it to decompose into the soil!”

“Ah, of course. Oh, it would be of great help if you could also inform my partner, Daniela, that I’m here.”

“Yes, that is easily done! And now, you should get treated in our infirmary and get some sleep!”

I guess that settled matters. Harold had helped me once again. We walked together to the infirmary and the magician there used magic to heal the wound on my right thigh. It was the first time that magic had been used to heal me. It felt kind of strange. As someone used to western medicine, it was like getting stitches that left no mark.

Now that I was all healed up, I lay down on the infirmary bed. Ahh, what an awful day. A real adventure. I played back the events of the day in my head as I lay there. I got down from the tree, killed some grass wolves, sensed something big, it was a wyvern…

“I’m happy that I was able to help them…”

My consciousness began to fade. I would rest a little. I couldn’t think of anything once I closed my eyes. And just like that, my mind journeyed off to the world of dreams.